Revamping Racing’s Future Part 1: The Proposal, continued


hands makes horsemen incredibly excited about the future. Foreman said at the press conference that “the donation of the Pimlico land to the City of Baltimore is critical to the future of the industry here in Maryland.” Te new Pimlico facility will not


only be a racetrack but will house a permanent Preakness/Pimlico mu- seum, multi-purpose athletic fields and multi-purpose event center. Te City is creating a community center, not just a racetrack, by open- ing up the land around the track for development. “Tis plan makes Pimlico a bridge between commu- nities in Baltimore and creates an engine for tourism,” Rifkin added. Te Stronach Group will lease


the facility from the City to run the Preakness Meet and will be able to take control of the facility several weeks before opening day to pre- pare for the Preakness Meet. Te Stronach Group does have the op- tion to add a Fall meet at Pimlico should they wish to. Cole estimated that Te Stronach Group would spend $8-10 million annually to hold the Preakness Meet. Te grandstand will be torn down and rebuilt


“We have the opportunity to move towards a safer track.” - Alan Foreman, council for MTHA said about a smaller track at Pimlico. He added, “Laurel [Park] will become the first track in the county to have all three surfaces.”


The Laurel Site Plan would build an entirely new Horsemen’s Village with over 1500 stalls and a dormi- tory for over 300 backstretch workers. The proposal also adds an all-weather Tapeta track to Laurel Park.


project fails.” Te new tracks will be slightly shorter than


following the more modern trend of seating ar- eas versus actual ticketed seats. Tis will allow the seating in the grandstand, as well as along the track and infield, to change each year based on demand. “Te seating is mobile so they can build in seating based on demand instead of permanent seats that must be filled each year,” explained Cole. Tis new grandstand, referred to as the Club- house on the various renderings created by the architectural firm Populous, will be elevated so that spectators can see over the infield tents and view the whole track. Swing bridges will be made so that people can cross the tracks without disturbing their surfaces. Although new stabling will be constructed, the famed “Derby Winner” stall of the Stakes Barn will be preserved and incorporated into the new barns, according to Foreman. Te cur- rent plan is only to have enough stabling for those shipping in for the Preakness Meet and not have any year-round stabling at Pimlico. In order to make all of these new designs


fit, the actual dirt and turf tracks at Pimlico will be rotated about 30 degrees. Although some at the press conference expressed worries about the history of the track being lost due to the shifting, Rifkin commented, “Sometimes our history and legacy stand in the way of our future. Without shifting the track, this whole


40 | THE EQUIERY | NOVEMBER 2019


what is currently at Pimlico and Foreman pointed out that it is actually a good thing for the sport. Te slightly tighter turns will mean the track will be banked, creating a safer surface for horses to run on. Michael Harrison, president of the Mary- land Horse Breeders Association, agrees that the Pimlico plan is a step in the right direction. “Look. Would you rather lose Pimlico holding the Preakness or lose the [original] track but keep the Preakness in Baltimore?” he told Te Equiery. “Tis deal could not have happened without shifting the track.”


“It’s a great deal. A real win-win for everyone


involved. Baltimore gets to keep the Preakness and Stronach gets the super track [at Laurel] they have always wanted.” - Michael Harrison, Maryland Horse Breeders Association president


Harrison went


on to say, “It’s a great deal. A real win-win for ev- eryone involved. Baltimore gets to keep the Preak-


ness and Stronach gets the super track [at Lau- rel] they have always wanted.”


Stronach’s Super Track Te Stronach Group may be giving up the


Pimlico property, but what they are getting in return is what they have been pushing for over the last few years–Maryland racing housed pri- marily at one location, Laurel Park. With this new proposal, Laurel will be turned into a year- round, live racing and training facility complete with three tracks, new barns, new dormitories and much more. “Laurel will become the day-to-day operat-


ing facility,” said Rikfin, adding, “the athlete is the showcase of this sport and we need to think


outside the box to create an environment that brings people into the facility.” “Te first thing we had to do was address the


backstretch issues,” said Foreman. Keefe was happy about hearing this, confirming there is a “big problem with the barns [at Laurel].” Te current barns will be torn down or repur- posed, and new better-ventilated state-of-the- art barns with 1,584 stalls will be built in a cur- rently wooded 54-acre parcel of the property. Tis new “horsemen’s village” will also have a dormitory that can sleep over 300 backstretch workers. Te area will have room for additional barns or dormitories if needed. Tere will also be a vet center located right next to the new Stakes Receiving Barn. Te clubhouse at Laurel will be getting a


facelift with a portion to be used every day and another section for special events. Te pad- dock and winner’s circle will be located inside the clubhouse so that spectators can view the horses being saddled from any point of the clubhouse. Te new paddock will also be able to be viewed from the nearby rail station, accord- ing to Rifkin. “Te goal is to create experiences that bring people into the track versus having them just stay at home and watch on the TV,” Rifkin stated. Te existing tracks at Laurel will be kept in


place but a new all-weather Tapeta track will be placed in-between the current dirt and turf tracks. “Laurel will become the first track in the county to have all three surfaces,” Foreman noted. He also explained that a tunnel would be constructed under the tracks to get horses safely from the barns to the tracks and back.


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